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Remarks at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Alex M. Azar II
Press
October 21, 2020
Atlanta, Georgia

While we make this exciting progress on vaccines and therapeutics, we see concerning trends in many parts of the country, as Dr. Butler explained. I’m briefed with the latest data from across the country by CDC’s career experts each and every morning. There is hope on the way, in the form of safe and effective vaccines and therapeutics, in a matter of weeks.

Thank you, Dr. Butler and Dr. Redfield, and thank you to everyone at CDC for hosting us today.

It’s an honor to be here to express my gratitude to the incredibly hardworking CDC team for their efforts throughout the pandemic.

While in Atlanta, I’ve also had the chance to learn about the heroic efforts of the staff at Grady Memorial Hospital, as well Emory University Hospital’s work on clinical trials for Regeneron’s antibody cocktail and Moderna’s candidate vaccine.

Thanks to how we designed Operation Warp Speed, if and when FDA gives the go-ahead for these therapeutic and vaccine products, we will have supplies already manufactured and ready for distribution.

In conjunction with Operation Warp Speed, CDC is leading the effort to coordinate vaccine distribution and administration, working with the 64 public health jurisdictions they partner with on vaccines each year.

I want to offer a special thank you to every American who has volunteered for COVID-19 clinical trials or helped raise awareness, especially among diverse communities where we need representation.

Anyone interested in signing up for a vaccine trial can visit Coronavirus.gov, and for therapeutic trials, go to RiseAboveCOVID.org.

While we make this exciting progress on vaccines and therapeutics, we see concerning trends in many parts of the country, as Dr. Butler explained.

I’m briefed with the latest data from across the country by CDC’s career experts each and every morning.

There is hope on the way, in the form of safe and effective vaccines and therapeutics, in a matter of weeks.

But in the meantime, to bridge to that next phase, we have to take the steps that can keep ourselves, our families, and our communities safe.

Those are the three Ws: Wash your hands, watch your distance, wear a face covering when you can’t watch your distance, and avoid settings where you can’t do these things.

Thank you all for joining us here today, thank you to the American people for your sacrifices throughout the pandemic, and thank you again to the team at CDC for their incredibly hard work.

We’re now happy to take some questions.

Content created by Speechwriting and Editorial Division 
Content last reviewed on October 21, 2020